Palestinian Martyred by Occupation Fire and Intense Artillery and Airstrikes on Khan Younis, Southern Gaza Strip

Gaza, August 15 (KUNA) -- A Palestinian was martyred by the fire of the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon, while several other Palestinians, including a child, were injured in the city of Khan Younis in the Strip as a result of gunfire and shelling by Israeli occupation forces on various areas of the city.

Health authorities reported that the martyrdom occurred near the intersection of Al-Eshrin Street in the Nuseirat Camp in central Gaza, and his body was subsequently transferred to Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza.

For their part, eyewitnesses told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that Israeli occupation aircraft launched an airstrike targeting a moving caravan in the center of Khan Younis, followed by a heavy barrage of smoke bombs and artillery shelling that lasted for more than an hour. The attacks targeted areas in the eastern part of the city and parts of its center, where large numbers of displaced Palestinians are crowded into homes and displacement tents.

The witnesses added that the shelling coincided with the intervention of occupation helicopters, which launched attacks with heavy weapons fire on the eastern area and its surroundings, accompanied by intensive flights of “Quadcopter” drones. Israeli tanks also fired heavily at homes and displacement tents in central and southern Khan Younis.

They reported that one shell fell inside the home of a Palestinian family without causing any injuries. The area also witnessed a limited incursion by Israeli occupation vehicles for a brief period before they withdrew beyond the Yellow Line.

Additionally, Israeli occupation aircraft launched two strikes on two houses in the southeastern areas of Khan Younis, causing material damage to the targeted homes, with no reports of new casualties.

This escalation follows an earlier airstrike by Israeli occupation aircraft on a motorcycle earlier on Saturday morning, which resulted in injuries to Palestinians described as serious, after a period of relative calm in the Gaza Strip over the past few days.

The Israeli occupation army claimed that the attack on Khan Younis and the targeting of areas containing homes and tents for displaced persons was in response to an explosion that targeted one of its vehicles inside the Yellow Line. (End) w.b. / r.j.